Why does the old() method fail in this Laravel 8 form? - php

Question

I am making a blogging application with Laravel 8 and Bootstrap 5.
I run into a problem trying to validate my "Add new article" form: when the form fails validation, the valid fields do not keep their values, despite ne using Blade's old() method.
In the controller, I have:
namespace App\Http\Controllers\Dashboard;
use Illuminate\Support\Str;
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Validator;
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Auth;
use App\Http\Controllers\Controller;
use App\Models\ArticleCategory;
use App\Models\Article;
use Illuminate\Http\Request;
class ArticleController extends Controller
{
private $rules = [
'category_id' => ['required', 'exists:article_categories,id'],
'title' => ['required', 'string', 'max:255'],
'short_description' => ['required', 'string', 'max:255'],
'image' => ['mimes: jpeg, jpg, png, gif', 'max:2048'],
'content' => ['required', 'string']
];
private $messages = [
'category_id.required' => 'Please pick a category for the article',
'title.required' => 'Please provide a title for the article',
'short_description.required' => 'The article needs a short description',
'content.required' => 'Please add content'
];
public function categories() {
return ArticleCategory::all();
}
public function index() {
$articles = Article::paginate(10);
return view('dashboard/articles',
['articles' => $articles]
);
}
public function create() {
// Load the view and populate the form with categories
return view('dashboard/add-article',
['categories' => $this->categories()]
);
}
public function save(Request $request) {
// Validate form (with custom messages)
$validator = Validator::make($request->all(), $this->rules, $this->messages);
if ($validator->fails()) {
return redirect()->back()->withErrors($validator->errors());
}
$fields = $validator->validated();
// Upload article image
$current_user = Auth::user();
if (isset($request->image)) {
$imageName = md5(time()) . $current_user->id . '.' . $request->image->extension();
$request->image->move(public_path('images/articles'), $imageName);
}
// Data to be added
$form_data = [
'user_id' => Auth::user()->id,
'category_id' => $fields['category_id'],
'title' => $fields['title'],
'slug' => Str::slug($fields['title'], '-'),
'short_description' => $fields['short_description'],
'content' => $fields['content'],
'image' => $fields['image'],
'featured' => $fields['featured']
];
// Insert data in the 'articles' table
$query = Article::create($form_data);
if ($query) {
return redirect()->route('dashboard.articles')->with('success', 'Article added');
} else {
return redirect()->back()->with('error', 'Adding article failed');
}
}
}
The form:
<form method="POST" action="{{ route('dashboard.articles.add') }}">
#csrf
<div class="row mb-2">
<label for="title" class="col-md-12">{{ __('Title') }}</label>
<div class="col-md-12 #error('title') has-error #enderror">
<input id="title" type="text" placeholder="Title" class="form-control #error('title') is-invalid #enderror" name="title" value="{{ old('title') }}" autocomplete="title" autofocus>
#error('title')
<span class="invalid-feedback" role="alert">
<strong>{{ $message }}</strong>
</span>
#enderror
</div>
</div>
<div class="row mb-2">
<label for="short_description" class="col-md-12">{{ __('Short description') }}</label>
<div class="col-md-12 #error('short_description') has-error #enderror">
<input id="short_description" type="text" placeholder="Short description" class="form-control #error('short_description') is-invalid #enderror" name="short_description" value="{{ old('short_description') }}" autocomplete="short_description" autofocus>
#error('short_description')
<span class="invalid-feedback" role="alert">
<strong>{{ $message }}</strong>
</span>
#enderror
</div>
</div>
<div class="row mb-2">
<label for="category" class="col-md-12">{{ __('Category') }}</label>
<div class="col-md-12 #error('category_id') has-error #enderror">
<select name="category_id" id="category" class="form-control #error('category_id') is-invalid #enderror">
<option value="0">Pick a category</option>
#foreach($categories as $category)
<option value="{{ $category->id }}">{{ $category->name }}</option>
#endforeach
</select>
#error('category_id')
<span class="invalid-feedback" role="alert">
<strong>{{ $message }}</strong>
</span>
#enderror
</div>
</div>
<div class="row mb-2">
<div class="col-md-12 d-flex align-items-center switch-toggle">
<p class="mb-0 me-3">Featured article?</p>
<input class="mt-1" type="checkbox" name="featured" id="featured">
<label class="px-1" for="featured">{{ __('Toggle') }}</label>
</div>
</div>
<div class="row mb-2">
<label for="image" class="col-md-12">{{ __('Article image') }}</label>
<div class="col-md-12 #error('image') has-error #enderror">
<input type="file" name="image" id="file" class="file-upload-btn">
#error('image')
<span class="invalid-feedback" role="alert">
<strong>{{ $message }}</strong>
</span>
#enderror
</div>
</div>
<div class="row mb-2">
<label for="content" class="col-md-12">{{ __('Content') }}</label>
<div class="col-md-12 #error('content') has-error #enderror">
<textarea name="content" id="content" class="form-control #error('content') is-invalid #enderror" placeholder="Content" cols="30" rows="6">{{ old('content') }}</textarea>
#error('content')
<span class="invalid-feedback" role="alert">
<strong>{{ $message }}</strong>
</span>
#enderror
</div>
</div>
<div class="row mb-0">
<div class="col-md-12">
<button type="submit" class="w-100 btn btn-primary">
{{ __('Save') }}
</button>
</div>
</div>
</form>
The routes:
// Article routes
Route::group(['prefix' => 'articles'], function() {
Route::get('/', [ArticleController::class, 'index'])->name('dashboard.articles');
Route::get('/new', [ArticleController::class, 'create'])->name('dashboard.articles.new');
Route::post('/add', [ArticleController::class, 'save'])->name('dashboard.articles.add');
Route::get('/delete/{id}', [ArticleController::class, 'delete'])->name('dashboard.articles.delete');
});
The problem:
I was expecting this syntax for keeping the values of valid fields in an invalid form, should work: value="{{ old('title') }}". But, fo a reason I have been enable to spot, it does not. The form is reset entirely.
What is my mistake?

Answer 1

You're redirecting back to the previous page without telling Laravel to pass the old inputs. Use the method withInput() with the route return.
Change
return redirect()->back()->withErrors($validator->errors());
with
return redirect()->back()->withErrors($validator->errors())->withInput();

Answer 2

You can use this method instead, and then the return with inputs will happen automatically
$fields = $this->validate($request->all(), $this->rules, $this->messages);
// if ($validator->fails()) {
// return redirect()->back()->withErrors($validator->errors());
// }